Tuesday, May 01, 2007

I've been thinking

... or maybe just letting thoughts lap over my consciousness like intermittent waves. I've been thinking about all the things I have to get done this week - reports to write, exam papers to mark, an interpreting job to prepare. I've been thinking about how quickly E. is slipping out of infanthood - when did 4 year-olds start going to slumber parties? And about how taking just one child out in the evening changes the dynamics of the event and makes it much more leisurely and yes, pleasurable. I've been thinking about the city I live in and how much it has changed since I arrived here all those years ago when people paddling in a miroir d'eau on the quais would have been unthinkable. I'm thinking about the summer - Scotland or the Dordogne first? I've been wondering about BookMooch etiquette — isn't it a bit cheeky of someone who'll only send books to "their own country" to ask me to send one to theirs? I've been thinking (and talking) non-stop about the presidential elections here in France: not Sarko, please please please not Sarko. And about the delectable Hugh Laurie and his stubble - is it reasonable to stay up late into the night to watch all those episodes of House MD in a row? Finally, today, I've been thinking about the very yellowness of gorse bushes under a dark sky in that scrubland that leads into the dunes. And through all of this, that pop song insinuating its gnawing way into my mental background - irritatingly familiar and omnipresent but what was it, where had I heard it? I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky. It turned out to be Mika's Grace Kelly, first planted in my brain by this man, and I've been listening to it outside my head ever since. Now I need some more thoughts to muffle it.

6 comments:

y.Wendy.y said...

Too many things to think about - but yes the Dordogne is the place to go.I drove through it this week and it is gorgeous.

And Hugh Laurie is vastly underrated - he's HOT!

Oh and I am back in Blog Land - clearly.

Anonymous said...

Tell the bookmooch person to get lost ... or suggest a swop. I had a look at the site and can't really figure out the points system. Wouldn't it be easier to just get together and send off a container of all our books to India? and look for wanted books on all those web sites. I expect there is something I have missed (how on earth do we say 'Sans doute quelquechose m'a échappé'?)

Sarah Mackenzie said...

It's nice to meander around the inside of one's head. Mine seems to be a lot like the kitchen cupboards in my mother's house. You never know what you will find there but mostly it's all past the sell by date.

It's also nice to be able to leave a comment. I got shut out of Blogger and was only readmitted when I "joined" Google. It took me about two weeks to work that out as I didn't read the instructions. Hey-ho.

And so onto my comment: the Miroir d'eau looks like a lot of fun.
As for Hugh Laurie - it is hard to imagine him as hot, I mean I like him but... hot? I remain opened minded.

We have downloaded the french version to practise our listening skills. I understand that he has the american accent down. Off course, we won't hear that will we. Anyway, we chose this out of the lottery that is the world of soaps as Grey's Anatomy had ended which BTW gets a rough ride in this review.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/05/arts/television/05grey.html?em&ex=1178596800&en=8d0f84dbe1a28da1&ei=5087%0A

(I hate ally McBeal. Please don't go down that road.)

Incidentally the New York Times Magazine issue is about middle age. Before reading a single article I did the quiz. I am only "moderately wise". Thought so. It's the kitchen cupboard syndrome.

You will be pleased to know, Lesley, that you are too young to be considered middle aged.

Lesley said...

Deborah: Yes, there is definitely a flaw at the heart of bookmoock in that you give books away because you want to make shelf room, but you get other books in exchange so the shelves stay full.

Sarah:Glad to see they've let you back in. I stand by my original description of Hugh Laurie - much better with an American accent (if you like that sort of thing, and I'm assuming you do ;-))

Lesley said...

Oh, and Grey's Anatomy is definitely going down the toilet. Last week's episodes which lead into the new spin-off took it to new depths.

christina said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has that song stuck in her brain. Ugh.

And yes, isn't it amazing how different everything is with just one child in tow?

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